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6 Jun 2012

Pasta puttanesca + boozy apple crumble

I hope today is not like yesterday, and the day before: when the light - or rather lack of - was the same no matter what the hour. When mid-morning was indistinguishable from midday, which blurred miserably into mid-afternoon. To get me thru the unchanging greyness of it all, I plotted my dinner.

Pasta with puttanesca sauce, my way. Which meant taking the premise of 'slut's pasta' - tinned tomatoes, tinned tuna, some garlic - and adding chilli flakes for heat (to thaw my toes). I used homemade pasta sauce - made in the summer and squirrelled away in my gorgeous retro chest freezer (perhaps 50 years old, maybe more) that hums away in the garage - one of the best presents my parents have ever given me! Anyway, back to the sauce: dark ruby red, flecked orange with olive oil, just what I needed to give colour to the day.

I also squished in half a tin of cannelini beans - while not in any recipe I've seen, I'm sure those working girls had a tin of beans in their pantry alongside the Sirena. And, then just because I felt like it, some steamed brocolli and peas. I'm sure my Italian friend D would be horrified at these additions - that's not a proper puttanesca! Heresy! - but hey, it's my kitchen. Puttanas need their greens, too.

Some S&P, and some chewy pasta (the same I used in my mac cheese) - a comforting but not heavy dinner. I made so much after I served up that I have enough for my dinner again tonight, and enough to squirrel away into the chest freezer for another couple of meals.

While I prepared dinner, I had my pudding course toasting away in the oven.

The night before I had made some boozy apples. The plan was for apple tart, but I ran out of energy and time, and decided that what I really wanted anyway was a light, crisp, oaty crumble topping. So I made the boozy apples - I love saying 'boozy apples'! - a lightly caramelised concoction of apple wedges softened in brown sugar, water and sherry. Don't wrinkle your nose up at sherry until you've tried it in a dessert like this, where it lends a beautiful, mellow quality to the fruit. But drink it? No way.

Once softened, I piled them into a shallow pie dish and let the flavours deepen overnight while I pondered the crumble. So last night, all I had to do was mix up a crumble that resembled muesli: rolled oats, flaked almonds, a little coconut, and the tiniest amount of spice - much less than I usually use, but I didn't want the crumble competing with the mellow roundness of the cherried apples.

The crumble was a fidget with my 'Nigella's crumble' - that's what I have written on the page; I have no idea of the precise providence. I recalled from last winter that this could be a bit biscuit-like, not what I was after this time. So I drastically reduced the butter and flour, allowing the oats and flaked almonds to become the focus. The final result was quite loose - if you want something more solid, I guess work your way back to the original butter and flour quantities. But I liked this 'loose' topping. Just enough toasty crispness to complement rather than dominate those rich, translucent, almost jelly-soft apples beneath.

I had sour cream on the side. And seconds.

Boozy applesUse in a crumble, or a pie or tart, or just enjoy by itself. I don't know where I got this recipe from.

Peel, core and cut into wedges 6 to 8 apples.

Place 25 grams each of white and light brown sugar (this adds up to a quarter cup, so do half and half in that) into a heavy pan/pot with 3 tablespns water. Cook till sugar dissolved, then add the apples and 1 tablespn sherry.

Half-cover, get a light simmer going, and cook til the apples tender and liquid reduced (this took me about half an hour).

Then combine 1 tablespn sherry, 1 tablespoon white sugar, and 1 teaspn cornflour. Add this to the apples and stir around til combined.

It's now ready to use.

Nigella's crumble (and mine)I give you the original recipe and, where different, my quantity in brackets. Either this pie dish was smaller than ones I have previously used, or I am becoming more moderate in my old age, but I only used about half this. The remainder too went into the freezer for another day.

125 grams butter, melted (50 grams)

60 grams rolled oats

40 grams flaked almonds

30 grams coconut (20 grams)

70 grams plainflour (50 grams)

1 teaspn each cinnamon and mixed spice (1/4 teaspn each)

75 grams light brown sugar (50 grams)

Combine these, sprinkle over your fruit, and cook at 180 until as brown as you like - about 25 minutes at least for me.

I used UFAs - unidentified father's apples :-) the recipe specified "dessert apples", but i used a mixed bunch, the last of dad's box. this meant i had a mix of textures - firm and fluffy - so quite nice. use whatever you like, really.

I used UFAs - unidentified father's apples :-) the original recipe specified dessert apples, but you could use anything, as i did. i mix of apples gave a mix of textures - some still firmish, some fluffy - and it was rather pleasing.

Hi SB, the lemon butter cake is a goody - i should make it again! and yes fresh tomotoes make the best pasta sauces - over-ripe and luscious - but i have found a brand of tinend tomatoes that are super-rich and make the best sauces. they're italian, of course! i made a fresh batch of sauce on the weekend, to last me the next month or so, and i should make a puttanesca with it tonight. thanks for the idea!i think overcooked tuna is so horribly dry, i agre with you about a last-minute toss :-)

Word-verification is on, as the robot-spammers are loving my tuna past bake too much at the moment! I hope you understand - and I hope you'll still leave a comment at Dig In. I love hearing your thoughts, knowing someone is reading, and will always reply. Unless you're a robot-spammer.